Saddle



L. W. FRU EH July 16, 1940.

SADDLE Filed Dec. 12, 1938 I VENTUR. [10w TRUEH Z4 @i RNEY Patented July 16, 1940 UNITED STATES SADDLE Lloyd W, Frueh, Lakewood, Ohio Application December 12, 1938, Serial No. 245,186

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a saddle and it has for its objects the provision of a saddle which is adapted to automatically adjust itself, both laterally and longitudinally, to the curvature of the back and sides of horsesof different size.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent and better understood after consideration has been given to the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the drawing which shows, merely by way of illustration, a saddle construction adapted for carrying out the aforesaid objects of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a saddle illustrating one form which the invention may assume and in which certain portions of the saddle have been broken away to better illustrate some of the details of the invention;

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view taken on line 2-2 Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the under side of the saddle with certain portions thereof removed to better illustrate some of the structural details of the saddle; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view of one of the flexible saddle tree points.

The saddle illustrated inthe drawing comprises a tree which is referred to generally by the numeral I. The middle portion of the saddle tree is of flexible construction so that the saddle from the front to the rear end may ad just itself to the withers or curvature of the backs of different horses, after the manner illustrated by the broken lines in Figure 1 of the drawing. This result may be accomplished by providing the saddle with a lengthwise-extending, flexible strip 2 of spring steel at each side of the saddle and by terminating the wooden portions 3 and 4 of the saddle tree short of the, mid-point of the saddle instead of having such wooden parts extend from one end to the other end of the saddle as is customary.

The strip 2 may be secured at one end by means of a rivet 5 to a steel strap 6 which in turn may be riveted to the wooden portion 4 of the tree of the saddle. At its forward end the strip 2 may be riveted at l to a bottom gullet plate 8 which underlies and reinforces the wooden part 3 of the saddle. A second gullet plate l overlies the lower gullet plate 8 and it cooperates with the wooden part 3 and the lower gullet plate to define the pommel of the saddle. I

At its underside, the saddle is provided with two similarly-formed, padded pannels II. The saddle is secured to the horse by means of a girth (not shown) and three billet straps I2, I 3 and M at the opposite sides of the saddle, I 3 and I 4 of which are secured to the portions of the saddle rigid with the gullet plates 8 and ID at the forward portion of the tree of the saddle.

The saddle is provided at its forward end, adjacent the pommel thereof, with tree points extending laterally and downwardly from thearch at the forward end of the saddle defined by the gullet plates 8 and ID. The present saddle, however, differs from the conventional saddle construction in that the tree points. are flexible throughout their entire length so that they may adjust themselves to the sides of the horse after the manner indicated in the broken lines in Figure 4 of the drawing. This highly desirable result is accomplished by forming the entire length of the supporting structure of each of the saddle tree points from a resilient strip of spring steel I which may be provided with a leather cover l6 and leather filler strips I1 and I8. Each of the spring steel strips is secured at its upper end to one of the lower ends of the gullet plate ill by any suitable means such asa rivet 20. The resilient strips 2 form a flexible back-bone, and

the resilient strips I 5 form flexible ribs for the saddle. l

The foremost of the three billet straps, namely the strap I2-,-is secured directly to the end portion of the resilient strip 15 by any suitable means such asa rivet 2|. The three billet straps may be maintained in properly spaced. relation by means of a leather spacer 22 through which the aforesaid straps are threaded. The stirrup straps (not shown) of the saddle may be attached at their upper ends to the saddle by any suitable means such as a fixture 23 which is rigid with the pommel or forward end of the saddle. The saddle is provided with a pair of sweat guards 24 at each side thereof, beneath the billet straps as is customary, to prevent the strap buckles which are attached to the girth of the saddle from galling or irritating the sides of the horse. Suitable flaps (not shown) are alsoprovidedtocover over the upper portion of the billet straps as is customary.

It is evident from the foregoing that when th girth is tightened by means of the billet straps I2,

I3' and I4, the resilient steel strips which form the tree points of the saddle will automatically adapt themselves to the curvature of the sides of the horse and as the saddle is being tightly drawn against the-horse, the curvature of the length of the saddle will be automatically adjusted to the back or withers of the horse so that the weight of the saddle and rider will be more or less uniformly distributed over substantially the entire area of the padded pannels H, which contact the withers and sides of the horse. In appearance and'contour the present saddle follows the accepted practice which has been found to be satisfactory over a period of many years and the saddle while flexible in certain diiii rections, possesses suflicient rigidity as a whole to maintain its position on the horse without resorting to unusual shapes or harmful accessories which might injure the horse. a

The present construction of saddle not only possesses the advantage of adapting itself to the shape of the horse when saddled but it also possesses the further advantage, by reason of its flexible construction, of yielding to the movement of the body of the horse when in motion with the result that the saddle is more comfortable to both the rider and the horse while at the same time being safer and more secure than the conventional rigid-tree saddle construction.

The combination of both the longitudinal and the lateral adjustable features of the saddle are essential to the fullest realization of the advantages of the invention because of the manner in which they cooperate to uniformly distribute the weight of thesaddle and rider over substantially the entire area of the two padded pannels of the saddle.

It is important that the tree points be flexible throughout their entire length and that theresilient strips which form the tree points extend from the rigid arch of the saddle which determines a fixed reference or bearing point at each side of the saddle with respect to which the rest of the saddle adjusts itself. From the foregoing it is evident that if either the points of the tree or the length of the tree were of rigid instead of flexible construction, the two fixed bearing points of the saddle would become fixed bearing lines andhence would not conformto the contours of differently shaped horses. It is also important for the sake of security in the at-. tachment of the saddle to the horse that one of the billet straps be attached directly to the ends of the flexible strips l5 so that the body of the horse is encircled to as great an extent as is possible by a band which cannot yield in a lengthwise direction.

' The foregoing description and the accompanying drawing to which it relates, describe what might be termed the preferred mode of practicing the invention. It is to be clearly understood, however, that the invention includes each and every novel feature or combination of novel features herein disclosed, subject only to the restricti'ons of the prior art, and that the invention may assume other forms and it is not to be limited to the particular and specific saddle structure shown and described herein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a saddle for a horse, an adjustable saddle tree construction comprising a relatively rigid pommehresilient steel strips attached to and extending rearwardly from said pommel and forming a flexible back-bone for the saddle tree,

resilient steel strips attached to and extending downwardly and outwardly from said pommel and forming flexible ribs for the sides of the saddle, and adjustable fastening means secured to the lower end portions of said flexible ribs for fastening a girth thereto, the tightening of said girth drawing the flexible ribs into fitting position on the sides of said horse and drawing the said pommel into a position over the withers of the horse permitted by the flexing of said flexible back-bone relative to the back of the horse.

2. In a horse saddle having an arched portion disposed in a substantially vertical plane forming the pommel and the treepoints of the saddle and having billet straps adapted to engage the lower ends of said tree points, a pair of resilient strips mounted in said arched portion intermediate the pommel and said ends of the tree points, respectively, the resilient flexibility of said strips permitting said tree points to accommodate horses of varying contour therebetween and to be main tained in close fitting engagement with said contour in said plane under constraint of said billet straps.

3. In a horse saddle having an arched portion disposed in a substantially vertical plane formed by the pommel and the tree points of the saddle, billet straps adapted to engage the lower ends of said tree points, a cantle portion, and a panel portion extending intermediate said arched portion'and said cantle portion for engaging the back of said horse, the combination of a pairof longitudinal resilient strips connecting said arched portion and said cantle portion on the opposite sides of the saddle to permit the saddle to flex longitudinally thereof in accordance with the contour of the horses back and a pair of lateral resilient strips mounted in said arched portion intermediate the pommel and said ends of the tree points, respectively, the resilient flexibility of said lateral strips permitting said tree points to accommodate horses of varying contour therebetween and to be maintained in close fitting engagement with said contour in said plane under constraint of said billet straps, the resilient flexibility of said longitudinal resilient strips and said lateral resilient strips providing for the simultaneous fitting of the arched portion and the panel portion of the saddle to the said horse.

4. In a saddle for a horse, an adjustable saddle tree construction comprising a relatively rigid pommel, resilient strips attached to and extending downwardly and outwardly from said pommel and forming flexible ribs for the sides of .the saddle, said strips being disposed along the line of support for said pommel and being disposed to resiliently flex relative to the horses side in said line of support, and adjustable fastening means secured to the lower end portions of said flexible ribs for fastening a girth thereto, the tightening of said girth drawing the flexible ribs into fitting position on the said sides of the horse to provide a fitted supporting engagement of the saddle on the horse.

5. In a horse saddle having an arched portion therebetween and to be maintained in close fitting enagement with said contour in said plane under constraint of said fastening means to provide a fitted supporting engagement of the saddle on the horse.

LLOYD W. FRUEH. 

